Football: N. Korean striker signs for S. Korean team

AFP
Thursday, Jan 10, 2013

SEOUL - North Korean striker Jong Tae-Se finalised his move to South Korea's K-league on Thursday, vowing to score at least 15 goals for his new team the Suwon Samsung Bluewings before the end of the season.

Jong, 28, was bought by Suwon from FC Koln in the second division of the German Bundesliga for a reported transfer fee of 300,000 euros ($395,850).

"I will use my experience in Germany to help Suwon win the league this season," Jong told reporters after finalising a three-year-contract that makes him the fourth North Korean to play in the K-League.

Jong, born in Japan to a South Korean father and a North Korean mother, has a North Korean passport and has said in previous interviews that he considered himself North Korean.

After passing his medical on Tuesday, he expressed his desire to serve as "an ambassador" for inter-Korean sporting exchanges.

Jong made his professional debut with Kawasaki Frontale in Japan's J-League in 2006 and won his first cap for North Korea in 2007. He was part of the national squad that qualified and played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Jong said his target was to score 15 goals over the rest of the season.

"There is no particular reason to set such a goal ... I just thought a striker of a winning team should achieve at least that much," he said.

"I will be mostly playing as a striker but am willing to take another position if ordered to do so by the coach," he added.

Jong has racked up 15 goals in 28 games for North Korea, but his club scoring record has been lacklustre since moving to Germany in 2010.

Suwon is one of the most popular clubs in the country and has won the K-league championship four times since its founding in 1995 - with its most recent title coming in 2008.